Boxing Day

Boxing Day is a secular holiday celebrated in England and other Commonwealth countries on the day after Christmas. It has been a bank holiday in England since 1871, and although now it’s a big day for sports, with national football and rugby matches filling stadiums and horse-racing tracks crowded with punters, the day has nothing to do with the sport of boxing and everything to do with boxes.

In medieval times, December 26 was a day of charity. At Christmastime, alms boxes were placed in churches to collect money for the poor. On the day after Christmas, the feast day of Saint Stephen, the boxes were opened and their contents distributed to the needy.